Louisville softball’s Fowler has had bounceback season

It has been a quite a ride for University of Louisville softball player Taner Fowler, who will play the last home game of her career Wednesday at Ulmer Stadium against rival Kentucky.

Fowler, an All-American as sophomore when she batted .366, saw her average and overall performance dip during a disappointing junior year.

“During her sophomore year she was on fire,” coach Sandy Pearsall said. “You could hardly get her out. The only blip on her career was as a junior because, I think, she felt so much pressure to do what she did as a sophomore.”

Now as a senior, Fowler’s batting average is back up (.355) and so is her versatility.

“I really took a step step and decided to just have fun,” she said. “There’s no reason to be tensed up. And to be honest, it couldn’t go any worse than it did last year.”

Fowler said her college career replicates the path she took at Union County High School, where she also struggled as a junior.

This season hasn’t gone by without a few bumps along the way, including a partial hamstring tear suffered in the Michigan game on March 15. After missing eight games, she furiously applied treatment, hoping to come back before the season ended.

After sitting out less than three weeks, she asked Pearsall to put her in left field, a position she had never play. The transition has gone seamlessly for Fowler, who also has played catcher, third base and first base.

“She’s played multiple positions for us and has done well at them all,” Pearsall said. “She’s starting to swing like she did as a sophomore, which is really good.”

Although she enjoys catching the most, Fowler said she’ll play anywhere to help the team.

“That’s a best part,” she said. “I don’t care where I play as long as I’m helping and contributing.”

She will leave U of L with plenty of superlatives, ranking in the program’s top 10 in career home runs (33), RBIs (143) and doubles (43). Now the Cardinals (31-18) need a solid finish to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, and beating No. 10 Kentucky (40-11) in the 6 o’clock game certainly would help.

“We really need to upset UK, obviously, and win out in the (American Athletic Conference),” Fowler said. “I grew up in Kentucky and you always want to beat them, and my best friend (Emily Jolly) is on that team. I go up there and hang out with her team. We’re all really good friends. We always want to beat team.”

Pearsall said the Cardinals just need to finish strong.

“Obviously, it would help us a great deal,” Pearsall said of beating the Wildcats. “For us, it’s more of a matter of pride. We need to prove ourselves a little bit. We’re kind of the underdogs. The pressure’s really not on us. ... They’re having a great season. They are a very confident team right now.”